April 27, 2011...

I just want to share this account with whoever might be interested. My dear friend, Mike, a fellow storm chaser, along with Rick and JB, all members of the Southern Weather Brigade, were chasing storms on that fateful day April 27, 2011, when much of Alabama was devastated by an onslaught of tornadoes that left the state ravaged and hurting. The loss of life that day was historic and tragic. It was 8 months ago yesterday, and my friend Mike, who witnessed it firsthand and even prayed for the victims, as he watched helplessly, is just now finally able to share the details of that traumatic day... His story.

God bless all of those still coping with the devastation of those storms.

~Dewdrop

Deck the Halls

Weather geeks are some of the funniest, geekiest people I know, myself included. This year, NOAA has put out their rendition of "Deck the Halls" using a commonly heard voice, that of the NOAA Weather Radio. It's music to my ears.

Have a Merry Christmas!!
~Dewdrop

Be prepared!

Well, if you listen to me, you have hooked up, or you immediately went out to purchase your weather radio. Hopefully, you purchased one that is SAME (Specific Area Message Encoder) code enabled. If not, don't freak, just having a weather radio could mean the difference between life and death. If you got one that is SAME code enabled, you are able to program your radio using specific codes, so your radio will only alert you when weather advisories pertain to that specific county. You can find codes for the counties you want alerts for by selecting your state at this link. Now what? Well, you wait for "inclement" weather. You will hear weekly tests of the EAS (Emergency Alert System), so the broadcasters can be certain the signal is going out properly. Anyone who didn't hear the National test of this alert system can recognize the value of the test. When inclement weather is present, the test will not occur. Generally, the alert in your area will start with a watch of some sort. Ideally, a severe thunderstorm or even a tornado watch will be issued for your area. A watch simply warns you that conditions are favorable for the weather described in the watch to occur. This should alert you to be aware and mindful of rapidly changing conditions, have your emergency kit ready. You should always have a disaster kit ready, but now's your chance to freshen it up, double check those batteries. Be mindful and vigilant. A watch means that the weather could happen.

Then, you might just experience a severe thunderstorm or tornado warning. When that is issued, it means one of two things, either those conditions have been witnessed by a credible source (SKYWARN spotter or law enforcement) or the radar that the National Weather Service meteorologists are observing is showing an imminent threat. If you are in the path of the storm, this is the time to get below ground, or if no basement is available, an interior room, away from windows. Cover up with a mattress; wear a helmet; put infants and small children in a car seat. Most injuries and deaths from severe weather occur when degree becomes projectile. Stay there until the warning expires.

... and that is how you stay prepared.
~Dewdrop

The first step... awareness

Oh hey, remember me? Probably not. I don't blame you. I've sort of dropped out of the blogosphere into several other social media outlets. I miss having a place to share and teach weather though, so I have decided that I would like to turn this back into a current weather teaching site. I am firm in my position that awareness (regarding weather) saves lives. I think that knowing some key information can help you to be proactive in preparedness. Being as passionate about weather as I am, many friends have taken to calling me during severe weather outbreaks. This scares me to death sometimes. The NWS has a very important tool in place that is designed to help people in the event of a weather emergency, the weather radio. I think every home should have one. You wouldn't believe some of the excuses I have heard from people about why they don't use theirs... it was annoying me with all those weather alerts... being the scariest. LUDICROUS!! They are there to warn you, to help SAVE YOUR LIFE! Don't turn off the alerts and worse... DON'T NOT HAVE A WEATHER RADIO! I think all homes should have weather radios built in. I think it should requires like smoke detectors. So...

STEP 1, LESSON 1: BUY A WEATHER RADIO!!

That is all!
~Dewdrop